Nine years ago Mark Kinsella made his league debut for Colchester United and ever since he's been waiting for the chance for the ultimate challenge of playing in the top flight of English football. After a 0-0 draw away to Newcastle on the opening day of the season and a 5-0 win at home to Southampton yesterday the Charlton midfielder must be wondering what all the fuss was about. If his team can hang on to their current league position for just another 36 games they'll be champions - simple as that. They have two nice easy fixtures coming up next too - away to Arsenal and Manchester United. No problem.

Two Irish players made their first Premiership appearances of the new season yesterday. Gary Breen, who missed last week's opener with a stomach bug, was in the Coventry side that lost 1-0 away to Nottingham Forest, and Mark Kennedy came on as a sub, with just six minutes to go, for Wimbledon away to Derby.

David Connolly made a brief appearance too for Wolves, following his move to the club last week on a one-year loan from Feyenoord, replacing Robbie Keane with 10 minutes to go. Keane had earlier won Wolves a penalty, from which Keith Curle scored the only goal of the game.

Another Irish forward, Keith O'Neill, was in the Norwich side that beat QPR 4-2 at Carrow Road yesterday, a win that puts them top of Division One, while goalkeeper Dean Kiely kept his third cleansheet of the season to keep Bury within two points of the leaders.

Two goals in three minutes away to Preston, in a 4-3 win, completed an eventful week for Stoke City's Graham Kavanagh, who was sent off midweek against Macclesfield in the League Cup. Yesterday's goals bring the former Middlesbrough midfielder's tally for the season to four in five games.

And in Division Three Sean McCarthy, who won a call-up to a senior Irish squad towards the end of Jack Charlton's reign, scored his third goal in four starts for Plymouth since his move from Oldham during the summer - Plymouth beat Barnet 2-0.